John J. Nicholson, Sr

THROUGH MOUNTAIN MISTS Early Settlers of Union County, Georgia.

Their Descendants...Their Stories...Their Achievements.

Lifting the Mists of History on Their Way of Life.
By: Ethelene Dyer Jones.
Family of War Soldier John Nicholson
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Pvt . John Nicholson.

Revolutionary War Soldier.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery.

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In this four part series about Revolutionary War Soldier John Nicholson, we have looked, first, at his record in the war to free America from England. We traced his involvement with Old Walton County, the "Orphan Strip" on the Georgia-North Carolina- South Carolina border, and his representing that county in the Georgia Legislature. We saw him move from Buncombe County, NC to Hall, Habersham, Cherokee and finally Union Counties in Georgia and learned that his grave is at the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery, Union County, where he was laid to rest. .
This column will list what we know of his children and family, although this information has been hard to document. At best, there may be omissions and errors in listing what we have found of his children. .

Tradition holds that John Nicholson, Sr., Revolutionary War soldier, was married three times. The name of his first wife has not been found. Neither is it known whether this first wife was the mother of some of his children. According to a marriage record in Warren County, NC, John Nicholson and Nancy Freeman were married there on February 22, 1794. His third marriage (date unknown) was to Susan Brown. .

Ten children are listed for John Nicholson, Sr. As nearly as possible from available sources, the children were James, Mary, Walter, Elizabeth, William Harrison, Alfred, a daughter (name unknown), Luvicia (called Vica), John Nicholson, Jr., and Sarah. .

It is not know whether James Nicholson remained in North Carolina when other members of the family relocated to Georgia. .

Mary Nicholson, called "Polly" (1791-1868) married Rene Chastain (1793-1889) on March 17, 1814. This marriage to the Chastain joined the Nicholson family to the famous Pierre Chastain, first Huguenot immigrant, who was Rene's great grandfather. Rene's grandfather was the famous Rev. John "Ten Shilling Bell" Chastain, Baptist minister and leader in church planting in Virginia and other states. Rene's parents were Edward and Hannah Brown Chastain. .

Walter Nicholson (1795- 1850) was born in South Carolina and married Dorcas Hogsed in Buncombe County, NC. This family moved to the Fodder Creek section of old Union County, a portion of the land that became Towns County in 1856. A farmer and orchardist, Walter Nicholson grafted apple trees and produced a variety called the "Watty" apple, using his nickname for the fruit. Walter and Dorcas Nicholson were in Union County, Georgia in the 1840 census. They had four children before moving from Buncombe County: John, Leander, Sarah and Elizabeth. Children with them in Georgia were Easter, Samuel and Logan. .

Elizabeth Nicholson, called "Betty" is believed to have married Benjamin Burke. .

William Harrison Nicholson (1797-1864) married first Jane Duckworth, a daughter of Jonathan and Kesiah Duckworth. He married, second, Jane Blocker. This family of Nicholsons made their home in the Cathey's Creek section of Transylvania County, NC. Unfortunately, William Harrison lost his life at the hands of bushwhackers during the Civil War. .

Alfred Nicholson (April 28, 1799-Jan. 31, 1874) married Mary "Polly" Chastain (July 10, 1797-July 22, 1865). She was a daughter of Edward and Hannah Brown Chastain, a sister of Rene Chastain who had married Alfred's sister, Mary Nicholson. Thus two of the John Nicholson children were linked in marriage to the noted Chastain family. The 1834 census of Union County, Georgia enumerates the family of Alfred Nicholson with five females and eight males. A well-known descendant of this couple is Dr. James M. Nicholson, grandson, and son of Jackson Van Buren Nicholson and Barbara Anne Etris. Dr. Nicholson, better known as "Professor" was principal of Union County High School from 1929 until his retirement in 1943. .

A daughter, name unknown, married Porter Owenby. This family moved to Union County, Georgia. .

Luvicia ("Vica") married Lewis Akins and they also moved to Union County, Georgia. Vica's father, John Nicholson, was living in her house when he passed away at age 96 on December 20, 1858. .

John Nicholson, Jr. (1802- 1884) married Elizabeth Allred. They had settled in Hall County, Georgia by 1830. Later, they relocated to Cherokee County by 1850. The senior John Nicholson lived with this couple for a portion of his years in Georgia. .

Sarah Nicholson (1803- 1882) married John Erwin (1801-1885). .

Many bearing the surname of Nicholson in Union County and elsewhere are proud to trace their ancestry back to John Nicholson, Sr. (1762-1858), Revolutionary War soldier. .

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c2009 by Ethelene Dyer Jones; published Mar. 26, 2009 in The Union Sentinel, Blairsville, GA. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved..

In 1780, while a resident of Bute County, N.C., he enlisted for service in the American Revolution. Entering as a substitute, he served twelve months altogether. His tours of duty, all in North Carolina and South Carolina are as follows: He served three months as a private under Gen. Caswell in Capt. John White's Company, Col. Eaton's N.C. Regiment and was at the defeat of Gen. Gates (Battle of Camden). He was discharged on the Adkin in North Carolina. He enlisted in 1781 and served three months under Gen. Greene and served as a private in Captains Norsworthy's and Flewallen's North Carolina Companies and was at the Battle of Guilford. He was discharged at Col. Ramsey's Mill in North Carolina. He enlisted again in 1781 and served three months as a private under Col. Linton in the North Carolina Troops. He was discharged near Tarborough in North Carolina. He enlisted in 1782 and served three months as a private in Capt. Cox's Company, Col. Sevier's North Carolina Regiment. He was discharged on the Tennessee River in North Carolina.

As indicated by the birthplace of several of John Nicholson's children, he evidently lived in South Carolina in the late 1700s. In 1800 he was enumerated in the census of Buncombe (later Transylvania) County, N.C. His household consisted of himself between 26 and 45 years old; four males between 0 and 10 years old, one female between 0 and 10 years, one female between 10 and 16 years old, and one female between 16 and 20 years old. Property deeds recorded in Buncombe County, N.C. indicate that John Nicholson owned land there from 1802 to 1833. He owned about 500 acres of land on the northwest side of the French Broad River on Glady Branch.

According to an article published by Mr. Robert S. Davis Jr., "Prior to 1786, several families banded together and formed a company for settling lands at the head of the French Broad River, an area in what these frontiersmen believed to be the Western lands claimed by South Carolina. At first, that state allowed these people to take out land grants, but shortly afterwards, ordered the grants annulled and ceded any claims to the western lands to the national government. For several years afterward, the settlers unsuccessfully petitioned Congress to have their settlement annexed to South Carolina. In 1793, these families formed their own government - not unlike the government that John Sevier had created for other settlers on the French Broad following the collapse of the State of Franklin to last until the United States ceded them to a state. Because no state would accept them until that happened, their area became known as the Orphan Strip. The Federal Government obtained this area from the Cherokees in 1798 and, in 1802, believing the settlement to be below the southern boundary of North Carolina, ceded the territory to the State of Georgia. The leaders of the Orphan Strip community immediately sent a signed copy of their community meetings to Georgia Governor John Milledge as a petition that their settlement be recognized. Governor Milledge mentioned this community in his next address to the state legislature, reporting that the surveyor general 'described the country as mountainous, inhabited by an orderly and industrious people living under no regulations such as necessity has compelled them to adopt for the security of themselves and their property.' The Georgia Legislature responded by creating Walton County from this area. The new county was named for George Walton, Georgia's last surviving signer of the Declaration of Independence, and was granted all of the functions of any other Georgia county. A state census was taken soon after in the area." Jno. Nicholson was enumerated as a resident of Capt. Clayton's district Eastern. His household consisted of eleven whites.

Continuing with Mr. Davis's article, "However, the boundary between Georgia and N.C. had not been located by the time of Walton County's formation...(and) North Carolina believed that most, if not all, of the area claimed as Walton County by Georgia was actually within the bounds of its own Buncombe County, formed 1791... The confusion and arguing over the limits of each state's authority led to what has been called the Walton War. On Dec. 17, 1804 Lt. Col. William Whitson, commander of the Buncombe County Militia, was 'distressed to hear that the Walton bandittey have taken arms and are committing depredations on the honest civil citizens of this county.' He ordered Major James Brittain to raise a militia...and pursue them... Among those men taken prisoner and sent to the Morgan District 'gaol' to await trial was John Nicholson. Later released, these men claimed their only crime had been refusing to recognize North Carolina's authority over Walton County."

"In 1807 a joint commission set out to find the 35th latitude, the mutually recognized border between N.C. and Georgia. To the surprise of all involved, all of their observations showed that Walton County was well above the 35th latitude and in North Carolina. The Georgia legislature refuted the findings and in 1811 hired Andrew Ellicott, a nationally recognized surveyor, to find the 35th latitude. His survey revealed that the border was even further south than the earlier reports had indicated. Resigned to their defeat, the pro-Georgia faction in Walton County petitioned the N.C. legislature in 1813 to request that they be accepted by that body despite previous misunderstandings. (Today the area is centered in Transylvania County, NC.)"

During its turbulent career, Walton County was represented in the Georgia Legislature by John Nicholson. He served as Representative in 1806, 1808, and 1809.

John Nicholson was enumerated in the 1820 Census of Buncombe County, N.C. in a household consisting of himself and his wife, both over 45 years of age, one son and one daughter, both between 10 and 16 years of age.

By 1830 John Nicholson had moved to Hall County, Georgia where he was enumerated in the census along with John Nicholson, Jr. On Nov. 2, 1832, while a resident of Hall County, John Nicholson applied for a pension as a veteran of the Revolutionary War. His claim was allowed and he was granted a pension at the rate of $40 per annum to commence on the 4th day of March 1831.

Deed records in Buncombe County, N.C. indicate on Oct. 4, 1833 John Nicholson of Habersham County, Georgia sold 568 acres of land to Benjamin Wilson of Buncombe, N.C. for $600. One of the witnesses was John Erwin who married John Nicholson's daughter Sarah.

In 1850 John Nicholson, age 88, was enumerated in the census of Cherokee County, Georgia in the household of his son John Nicholson Jr. He was also listed on the tax list of Union County, Georgia that year and his taxes were paid by Lewis Akin, his son-in-law.

On March 26, 1855 John Nicholson, a resident of Union County, Georgia applied for bounty land available to veterans under the Act of Congress approved March 5, 1855. He had moved to Union County to live with his son Alfred Nicholson who lived in the Harmony Grove community of Arkaquah District. He was living with his daughter, Mrs. Lewis (Vica) Akins, in the Coosa Community when he died Dec. 20 1858, at the age of 96. He was buried in Pleasant Grove Cemetery on the Blue Ridge Highway, near Blairsville. His grave has been marked by the daughters of the American Revolution.

• Residence: Cherokee, Cherokee, Georgia - 1850
  • Reference: FamilySearch Genealogy - SmartCopy: Sep 21 2018, 19:05:46 UTC

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Information prepared by Jerry A. Taylor, Young Harris, GA

In 1780, while a resident of Bute County, N.C., John enlisted for service in the American Revolution. Entering as a substitute, he served twelve months altogether. His tours of duty, all in North Carolina and South Carolina are as follows: He served three months as a private under Gen. Caswell in Capt. John White's Company, Col. Eaton's N.C. Regiment and was at the defeat of Gen. Gates (Battle of Camden). He was discharged on the Adkin in North Carolina. He enlisted in 1781 and served three months un Gen. Greene and served as a private in Captains Norsworthy's and Flewallen's North Carolina Companies and was at the Battle of Guilford. He was discharged at Col. Ramsey's Mill in North Carolina. He enlisted again in 1781 and served three months as a private under Col. Linton in the North Carolina Troops. He was discharged near Tarborough in North Carolina. He enlisted in 1782 and served three months as a private in Capt. Cox's Company, Col. Sevier"s North Carolina Regiment. He was discharged on the Tennessee River in North Carolina.

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 31 2024, 14:45:58 UTC

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/11325469/john-j-nicholson